Four Great Hotels for Summer Stargazing

Marana, Arizona Star Search: Warm weather year-round makes Arizona’s Sonoran Desert a prime night-skies destination. Guests at the 253-room Ritz get in on the celestial action during complimentary weekly stargazing sessions on its Camor Lawn. Learn how to identify a few constellations, and search for them again later with the desktop telescope in your guest room.Daytime Diversion: The Turquesa Pool and its fun-for-all-ages 235-foot waterslide. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 resort credit.

Red Centre, Australia Star Search: Admiring the Milky Way is practically a pastime at this 16-tent lodge near Australia’s Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Every other night, the resort’s astronomy team joins guests for stargazing after a sunset dinner atop the dunes, and sleeping under the stars is encouraged: Staff set up king-size swags (sleeping bags) on your veranda’s daybed. Daytime Diversion: An early-morning excursion to the otherworldly Walpa Gorge. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $50 activity credit.

San Pedro de Atacama, ChileStar Search: The ten-suite Awasi Atacama lodge shares a town with one of the world’s most powerful observatories, if that says anything about the area’s astronomy cred. Awasi has its own modest observatory 15 minutes away – guests hop in a private four-wheel drive with their guide and join an astronomer there, who points out constellations with a laser torch before showcasing the night sky through the dome’s telescope.Daytime Diversion: A drive through the Atacama Desert to search for llamas.Virtuoso travelers receive a private cooking class.

Namib Desert, NamibiaStar Search: Set within Africa’s only certified Dark Sky Reserve (an exceptionally starry area that is kept free of artificial light pollution), this ten-room lodge sees its fair share of twinkling skies. A resident astronomer leads nightly stargazing sessions, which take place in an on-site observatory on the edge of the Namib Desert. Daytime Diversion: An early-morning hot-air balloon ride over the sand dunes.Virtuoso travelers receive a private desert stargazing dinner.